Joe Biden: Israel causes ‘overwhelming frustration’

Vice President Joe Biden several times criticized what he called an Israeli government that causes “overwhelming frustration” in a speech that seemed to rule out the chances of a final year peace push from the Obama administration.

“The present course Israel’s on is not one that’s likely to secure its existence as a Jewish, democratic state— and we have to make sure that happens,” Biden said, in a speech to the annual gala dinner of the left-leaning J Street held in Washington.

Despite the Obama administration’s frequent clashes with the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House carefully avoided weighing in ahead of last year’s Israeli elections. But Monday, Biden went harder at Netanyahu as he sketched out a reality he said that’s left him feeling that “the path for peace is shrouded.”

“There is, at the moment, no political will among Israelis and Palestinians to move forward with serious negotiations,” Biden said.

Biden kicked off his remarks by praising Stav Shaffir, a 30-year-old member of the Israeli Knesset from the left whom he said was a “flashback” to his own election to the Senate at the age of 29.

“May your views once again begin to have a majority opinion in the Knesset,” Biden said.

Biden said his trip to the Middle East last month, when he met with both Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, had left him with a sense of pessimism. Both governments, he said, have made damaging moves that he said have set back efforts, and exacerbated tensions: the Israelis by expanding settlements, and the Palestinians by trying to force a solution by threatening to go through international institutions.

Biden said his meetings with the two leaders did not leave him “feeling encouraged about the prospects of peace.”

Speaking ahead of Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry expressed more optimism, saying his efforts continue, but stressing the need for a two-state solution, and quickly: “Anything else will not be Jewish, and will not be democratic,” he said.

Whatever happens, Biden said, the United States has a vital role to play, and organizations like J Street, which “proves there’s no contradiction between being progressive and pro-Israeli,” are at the forefront. America, he said, must continue pushing the government to make moves toward peace while at the same time guaranteeing security.

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How did Biden become the Vice President of the US? The same question can be asked of the President as well. The Obama Administration’s lack of understanding of international affairs has been responsible for Russia’s resurgence and China’s belligerence and defiance of international law; the crisis in Ukraine and the South China Sea being instances of tepid US response. So also the inability to foresee the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria and the tumultuous situation in Libya proves that the present administration has not only failed the people of America but made the world a more dangerous place.